Marvel's Spider-Woman, pointing her posterior in the air, is ridiculous, says Charlotte
Runcie

A new image of Spider-Woman has not gone down well with comics fans. The Marvel cover artwork for the new series features the character, also known as Jessica Drew, in a submissive sexual pose, pointing her unusually well-defined posterior obligingly into the air. Her behind, additionally, is coated in a fabric that clings so tightly, it could well be spray-on paint.

Such a ridiculous pose looks out-of-place for a character who is supposed to be at the forefront of Marvel's ongoing attempts to appeal to their growing female readership.

Attempts to placate bemused readers came from the series writer Dennis Hopeless, who said: "I can promise you we have no intention of blatantly sexualising any of the characters in our story... You have my word that our story treats Jess with the utmost respect." The artist working on the comic itself, Greg Land, was not involved in the controversial alternative cover, which was drawn by erotic artist Milo Manara.

There are always arguments to be made about how superheroes of all genders are drawn in fantastical poses, with male characters sporting idealised body types just as much as women. It hardly needs pointing out, yet again, that while male superheroes' fantasy bodies are over-idealised as strong and powerful, women's are almost always pouting, sexually suggestive and/or scantily clad. The new image is certainly not the most misogynistic depiction of a superheroine I've ever seen, but it's always disappointing to see the old cliché wheeled out.

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There isn't any excuse for this sort of vintage sexism in comics any more. Women now make up almost half of all readers of comics and graphic novels, and in 2013 women accounted for 41 per cent of people attending comics conventions.

Who, exactly, is this Spider-Woman for? Why did Marvel choose an erotic artist to produce the cover, or why wasn't the image vetoed by someone with access to up-to-date information on their readers?

It's not as if Marvel hasn't been trying to improve. The announcement that a new series about Thor would feature the character as a woman has been greeted with optimism from fans, and in June, Marvel launched the Women of Marvel podcast and panel, a forum for female comics artists and editors to discuss their work and the industry. When the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, was asked when he would make a film with a female lead, he said: “I hope we do it sooner rather than later" – all promising, if vague, omens.

More promising still is a comment from Tom Brevoort, Marvel Comics's senior vice president of publishing.Responding to the outcry on Tumblr, he said: "I think a conversation about how women are depicted in comics is relevant at this point."

We've come a long way from 2011, a year when there were no female-led Marvel titles in print. But the progress we've seen just makes the new, hyper-sexualised Spider-Woman look even more absurd. Spider-Woman deserves better.